December 10, 2003

Tristan is 9 days old now. We've received many lovely notes in response to our emailed announcement of a couple days ago. Nice to know we have so many well-wishers!

One in particular I'd like to acknowledge is our friend Chris Johnson who went to the trouble of publishing one of our baby pics on his web site. Chris has made a real effort to keep in touch since we left the NYC area having visited us three times. You can see some nice photos from one of his visits to us on his web site.

To our pleasant surprise, we find ourselves adapting to Tristan's existence quite well. Of course the round-the-clock feedings are disruptive, but we've all pitched in to make sure that none of us lacks for sleep. Jake has really come through for us, handling cleaning and other chores without resentment or complaint. And he's developed a rapid and strong bond with Tristan; he spends even more time in the nursery than I do.

December 6, 2003

It's been a long time since I've updated this page, and quite a bit has happened.

Our second son Tristan was born in the wee hours of December 1. Cathy and the baby are doing fine.

We can't say enough for the hospital staff. The nurses (Sharon, Heidi and many others), lactation consultants (Elaine, Peg, and Gail), and midwife (Sarah) were wonderfully helpful and supportive.

Thanksgiving dinner was held at our home this year -- the first year that a member of my generation has played host. My Aunt Priscilla, the usual host for the past two decades give or take, thought that Cathy ought not to be travelling so close to her due date. Priscilla came the day before and oversaw preparations. Thanks 'Scilla!

In other news, I've licensed Ximagi to Abaca Press USA for their North American web site. This has been in the works for a while, but Abaca is in a competitive industry, and so I was unable to comment on it until it launched recently. I'm hopeful that more licensees will follow.

June 15, 2003

Cathy and I have begun designing the data schema for our project in earnest this weekend. It's great fun to be working with her again. The last major project we had together was the original ImageDirect work, although we had a Grey project more recently that was cancelled mid-way through.

Although today was a fantastic day, there's been a great deal of rain recently. I haven't been able to keep up with the lawn. This isn't a recent picture, but all the rain reminded me of it. It's a shot of Jake playing with his sword during a storm. It's part of this series.

For Father's Day, we did a little hiking. Forgot to take the camera. :-(

June 1, 2003

Today is our first anniversary living in our house in rural Hancock, NH where I lived from 1976 to 1985. The fact of the anniversary escaped my notice until this morning. I'll have to give some thought to celebration.

We recently learned that Cathy is pregnant!

Jake and I spent a lot of time pampering her during the past few weeks as she plodded through her first trimester. Here she is enjoying a lobster dinner that we served to her in bed. In spite of the nausea, she's been eating very well. (When she looses her appetite, I know she's really sick.) Lately, now that she's into the second trimester, she's been feeling much more herself. Still, Jake and I continue to ramp up our house-keeping habits in preparation for when Cathy won't be able to assist. Jake did a great job cleaning the kitchen this morning, and Cathy was moved to observe that she felt greatly reassured that the house won't fall apart while she's recovering.

The baby is due in late November. Jake is excited about having a younger sibling. He'll be almost 12 years old when the baby arrives.

This may be just the excuse I've been looking for to upgrade my digital camera ;-)

Cathy's oldest and best friend Zhang Zhen (Anglicized as "Jean Chang") and her husband Zhang Hong had their baby girl almost exactly a year before Cathy is due to deliver. They visited us a couple of weeks ago with Zhang Zhen's mother Zhou Xi-wen.

We've been observing much more wildlife then I remember seeing here as a child. Earlier this month, Jake spotted an owl perched above our pond at twilight. We also frequently see turkeys crossing our lawn, although I expect our new dog Cafall will tend to scare them off from now on.

I landed a contract recently that should keep me fairly busy through July. I'm building an email marketing application for L'Oréal and their subsidiaries including Maybelline. Several of my past Grey colleagues work for their Internet marketing division now, including my good friend Chris Maher who initiated the contract talks with me. I've got John Frisch, yet another Grey alumnus, doing the QA work for me.

Peace,
Chris